Former FBI Director James Comey is facing a third criminal prosecution brought by the administration of President Donald Trump. According to court documents that were recently unsealed, federal prosecutors have charged Comey with the transmission of national defense information and conspiracy to transmit such information. The legal proceedings, which had been held under seal since October 5, center on allegations that Comey shared sensitive national security details during his time leading the FBI.
The charges are linked to an October 5, 2016, article published by The New York Times concerning Yahoo's role in modifying spam filters to assist with United States intelligence surveillance. In a filing unsealed this Monday, Special Assistant US Attorney Dustin Farahnak alleged that Comey directed his staff to contact reporter Charlie Savage to correct information that had previously appeared in Reuters, an action the prosecution claims resulted in the illegal transfer of classified material.
In response to the filing, legal counsel for Comey has submitted a motion to dismiss the charges. The defense argues that the case is time-barred by the statute of limitations, as the alleged disclosure occurred exactly ten years prior to the government filing its criminal information. The defense maintains that prosecutors were obligated to secure a grand jury indictment within that ten-year window rather than proceeding via a criminal information. Comey has not been indicted in this matter.
Comey addressed the accusations in a video statement, describing the situation as an appalling abuse of the Department of Justice that the public should not become numb to. He reaffirmed his innocence, stating, "I'm still not afraid of these people, and I still believe in the independent federal judiciary." Since initiating the FBI investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, which eventually led to his dismissal as FBI director in May 2017, Comey has remained a primary target of the Trump administration. This current case follows two previous prosecutions, one of which was dismissed by a judge, while another indictment in April accused him of making a threat against President Trump via an online image.
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